Review
This Australian psychological thriller examines death penalty with a horrific twist
Our reviewers cast their eyes over recent fiction and non-fiction releases, including an engaging account of the seven Cleopatras and Geoffrey Robertson’s crisply argued case for prosecuting Putin.
- by Cameron Woodhead and Steven Carroll
Latest
This retelling of Huckleberry Finn is a masterful satire of race
Percival Everett tells the story of Mark Twain’s classic from the point of view of Jim, the runaway slave who befriends Huck.
- by Declan Fry
This memoir on grief is a treasure chest of honesty and raw humanity
When her partner of 25 years died, Nova Weetman found the necessity of work and her two children kept her connected to reality.
- by Michael McGirr
Determined, tone-deaf and glib: Rebel Wilson tells her own story
Wilson is a talented actor, but she can’t replicate that talent in her memoir.
- by Stephen Brook
A frantic call from a sinking ship: this novel opens with a coroner’s report
Miles Franklin winner Shankari Chandran has an agenda in her new book Safe Haven, as our desire not to see has only been strengthened.
- by Helen Elliott
Who stole Picasso’s Weeping Woman? This novel could have the answer
Our reviewers cast their eyes over recent fiction and non-fiction releases, including historical fiction, a ripping yarn about the Labor Party and MasterChef inaugural winner Julie Goodwin’s memoir.
- by Cameron Woodhead and Steven Carroll
Salman Rushdie’s memoir is the work of a supreme storyteller
The novelist’s account of the brutal attack on him and how he survived is moving, ghastly and full of self-scrutiny.
- by Peter Craven
On the road with the Blues Brothers and a mission from God
Journalist Daniel de Visé tells the story of the classic comedy starring Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi.
- by Nathan Smith
Opinion
Literature
Scared of same-sex parents? Wait until you meet this caterpillar with an eating disorder
No book should ever be banned, but if you’re really worried about kids’ safety, maybe we should start censoring some of the classics.
- by Thomas Mitchell
The singular adult fantasy that is a Marian Keyes novel
The Irish writer brings one of the Walsh sisters back to Ireland after heartbreak in New York.
- by Jessie Tu
Michael Ondaatje’s latest work is in praise of long love and experience
The writer’s first collection of poetry in more than 25 years replaces the idea of ageing as diminution with a blazing and sensual testament to what is held close.
- by Felicity Plunkett